Life Lessons
by drcjsnider
Summary: While attempting to teach a love-struck Al a lesson in how to treat your friends, Rose and Scorpius discover something about themselves.


**Title:** Life Lessons  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** 2409  
**Summary:** While attempting to teach a love-struck Al a lesson in how to treat your friends, Rose and Scorpius discover something about themselves.  
**Notes/Warning:** Written for smrw_santa exchange the recipent was **sarahyyy**, who wanted Witty banter, a happy ending, scheming, plotting, Slytherin!Rose and Scorpius, lots of snark. My inspiration quote was: A truth told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent. A great big thanks to **queenb23more** for doing the beta work on this.

"I've got to get going," Al said, rising to his feet.

Rose shot him an annoyed look. "We aren't done yet."

"We've been at it for over an hour," he huffed in reply.

"Actually, only forty-eight minutes," Scorpius said, tapping his wristwatch.

"Well, I'm meeting Judy in five minutes and don't want to be late. You two finish up and fill me in tomorrow morning." Al then gave them a mock salute, turned on his heel, and left the common room.

"Did he just ditch us for Judy Longbottom?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Well, he ditched you. I just happened to be sitting here when he left the room."

Rose glared at him. "The three of us have been meeting on Sunday evenings for the last five years. I don't remember us ever voting to make these meetings optional."

Scorpius shrugged. "Maybe he thought since we'd achieved all our goals, weekly meetings are no longer necessary."

She frowned. "We haven't achieved all our goals."

"Please. You are Head Girl. I am Head Boy. Al is captain of the team destined to win the Quidditch Cup this year. Slytherin has an insurmountable lead for the House Cup. What else is left?"

"None of us have received an award for special services to the school."

"Wouldn't we actually have to perform a special service to win such an award?"

"Obviously," Rose responded with a roll of her eyes. "However, we might have an easier time figuring out what service we could perform if Al wasn't spending all his free time pursuing Judy Longbottom."

"Well what do you want do about it? We can't force him to continue working with us. Not everyone wants to devote their every waking minute to ensuring the successful outcome of 'The Master Plan for Rose Weasley's Life.'"

"Not just my life. I have plans for yours and Al's lives, too."

Scorpius shrugged. "Still, it's a lot to ask."

Rose stiffened. "Do you want out as well?"

"No, luv. I'm with you all the way up to the Minister's office, but Al obviously needs something more."

"But Judy Longbottom! She isn't even one of the most powerful girls in Gryffindor, let alone the school. If he had only come to me first, I could have set him up with someone more influential – someone with the right connections."

"Judy's alright," Scorpius said. "Her dad's a war hero and he could be headmaster someday. Her mum might have more influence than you suspect, what with running _The Leaky Cauldron_ and all.

Rose waved her hand as if not impressed. "We would have their support no matter what. We need to build alliances with people like Mallory Davies and other Ravenclaws who have resented our academic success for the last seven years."

"We can't choose who we fall in love with."

Rose's frown deepened. "Do you think he's in love?"

Scorpius shrugged. "You have to take it into consideration."

"I suppose. It would be rather callous to try and break them apart if they're in love."

Scorpius nodded. "If it could even be done."

"Oh, it could be done. A lie here, an ill intentioned truth there, and before you know it they would be at each other throats."

"But you won't?"

"No, not if they are possibly in love. I'm cunning, not cruel. But something has to be done, Scorpius. We can't just let Al go on thinking that it's okay to disregard our long-term plans just because he now has a girlfriend. There must be some way to get him to see the light."

Scorpius paused for several seconds in deep thought. "We could demonstrate how annoying it is to get stood up simply because one's friend has formed a new romantic attachment."

Rose twirled a curl of hair around her finger as she considered this idea. "You think one of us getting a boyfriend or girlfriend is going to teach Al a lesson about living up to his responsibilities?"

"Actually, I was thinking we should both start to date."

Rose looked intrigued. "I suppose I could go out with McLaggen. Heaven knows he's asked me often enough. I'm sure you could have the pick of the lot among the Slytherin or Hufflepuff girls."

"Not the Ravenclaws or Gryffindors?" he asked, a sly smile on his face.

She shook her head. "Too big a chance they'd see through your charming bullshit. Of course, if you already liked one of them, it might work out."

He shook his head. "No, my heart isn't attached to a member of the fair sex in either of those houses. But, I'm concerned that pursing a random Slytherin or Hufflepuff might be risky. If I picked the wrong bird and she really fell for me, things would get messy when I eventually broke it off. You know, luv, it would be much easier if we just dated each other."

"Do you think it would be as effective?"

"It would be more effective. That way we could not only be late to our individual appointments with him – using each other as an excuse – but when we meet with him together, we can spend the majority of our time gazing longingly into each other's eyes rather than listening to his ideas."

Rose laughed. "I don't know if we could pull it off."

"Why not?"

"Do you really believe you can fake being attracted to me? Al knows us pretty well; if you can't look sincerely interested, this is very going to work."

"Don't worry about me. I can easily portray a man in love."

Rose looked skeptical. "Let's see it then."

"What?"

"I want to see you pretending to be in love with me."

Scorpius looked around the Slytherin Common Room. "Here? Right now?"

Rose nodded. "Sure, unless you are too embarrassed to pretend to like me."

He snorted. "Everyone already knows I like you."

She looked at him sharply. "Romantically. You are going to have to pretend to like me in a romantic sense."

Scorpius leaned forward, his eyes flashing with a heat that Rose had rarely seen in them before. He smiled at her slowly, as if he was very interested in what he saw, and raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

Rose's eyes widened and she started to blush. He was good. "Alright. You can obviously pull off a pretend relationship."

He leaned back and smirked. "Now the only question is whether you can act interested in me."

"That won't be difficult at all," she said in a husky voice, before wetting her lips and shooting him a wink that had him shifting in his seat. "Now sit next to me so we can plan how best to convince Al that it's rude to throw one's friends over for a girl."

0-0-0

Al stormed into the Slytherin Common Room. "Where the hell are you two been?"

Scorpius looked up from the book he and Rose were sharing between them. "We've been here since dinner. Why?"

"We were supposed to meet in the Potions classroom to brew some Calming Draughts for Ravenclaw. Remember, it is part of our effort to build alliances now that might benefit us next year?"

"Sorry, mate," Scorpius said with a smile as he tossed his arm over Rose's shoulder. "We must have lost track of time."

Al frowned and stared in confusion at the two of them.

Rose glanced at the clock over the mantle. "It's too late to go work on the draughts now. I'll talk to Professor Bobbin about rescheduling a time in the classroom."

"Thanks, luv," Scorpius murmured before leaning over to nuzzle Rose's neck.

Rose playfully pushed him away. "Not now. We need to finish studying first."

"What's going on between you two?"

"We're dating."

"What?" Al looked astounded.

"Rose has finally fallen for all my considerable charms."

"The two of you are a couple?"

"You don't have to sound so shocked. We aren't exactly lepers," Rose huffed in real annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just didn't realize you were capable of feeling tender human emotions, and I thought Scorpius was asexual."

"Oi!" Scorpius protested. "That's a bloody unpleasant thing to say about your best mate."

"No offense, but you've never before expressed a romantic interest in anyone."

"Maybe I've just been waiting around for Rose."

"You are sooooo sweet," Rose cooed, placing her hand on his thigh.

Al made a face, but Scorpius looked entranced. He leaned over and gently laid his hand on Rose's cheek. "I've adored you forever."

Her smile grew wide. "I am so glad you finally told me."

He lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. What began as an act, however, soon changed into something much more genuine. For several minutes, everything else faded into the background. It was just the two of them, with no audience, no interference, and no hidden agendas. When Scorpius finally broke away, he saw the surprise and shock in Rose's eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

She nodded and then scanned the common room. Al was gone. "Was that all for my cousin's benefit?"

"Not exactly. I mean it started that way, but I've wanted to be with you for ages. Once I had you in my arms, it was just kind of hard to stop."

"Oh," she stated quietly, as if she were trying to process what he was saying. "So what do we do now?"

"You tell me, Rose. You are the one who has our lives mapped out for the next three decades."

She frowned a bit at his cynical tone and glanced down at her hands, obviously contemplating how this development might impact their futures. When she once again looked up there was a gleam of excitement in her eyes. "This might be even better than what I had initially envisioned."

"So you are going to give us a shot? We are going to have a real chance to being together?"

When Rose nodded, Scorpius gave a muffled cry of joy, clasped her in his arms, and kissed her again and again.

They stayed together, cuddled on the couch late into the night. Eventually Rose stood and gathered her books to return to her room. "Do you think we've succeeded in teaching Al a lesson?"

"I don't know, but now it will be a lot easier to arrange 'incidents' like tonight's until we know he's gotten the message."

"How long do you suppose that will take?" she asked arching an eyebrow.

"Al can be a bit thick. I'd say to be safe we should plan on being caught kissing in public during in appropriate times for at least the next forty years."

Rose laughed, before leaning over to kiss him goodnight.

0-0-0

"So how did it go?" Al asked, when Scorpius finally returned to their dorm room that evening.

"It's official. We're a couple," Scorpius replied, plopping down on his bed with a pleased smile on his face.

"I told you she'd be amenable to the proposal if you approached it correctly."

Scorpius' smile grew wider. "The idea for me to maneuver Rose into a relationship by pretending that you had abandoned your friends for Longbottom was pure genius."

"I have my moments," Al stated without the slightest bit of modesty.

"So what is going to happen with you and Judy now? Are you planning on continuing to date her?"

Al nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe so. The girl is hopeless smitten. It'd break her heart if I dumped her. Besides it's rather nice having someone in my life besides my parents who is kind, understanding, and forthright. You should try it with Rose. You can't imagine what a relief it is to not continually be trying to stay three or more steps ahead of the girl you like."

"I'll consider it," Scorpius said, not sounding at all convinced. One of the things he loved about Rose was her cunning mind. If he wanted an uncomplicated girl, he'd already be dating a Gryffindor. Placing his hands behind his head, Scorpius closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of everything in the world lining up correctly for maybe the first time in his life.

0-0-0

"Pssstt, Judy, over here," Rose hissed from behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy on the Fifth Floor.

Judy stepped behind the statue. "What's with all the cloak and dagger dramatics?"

"Shush. Keep your voice down," Rose cautioned, pulling Judy even deeper into the shadows. "I have your payment."

"My what?" Judy whispered.

Rose shoved a folder of parchment into Judy's hands. "That is all of my notes from History of Magic. Study those and you are sure to get an O on your exams."

"I don't know if I should accept these," Judy said, frowning deeply.

"Fine," Rose huffed, reaching for the folder. "I'll take them back."

Judy refused to let it go. "It's just that I really like Al. I probably would have dated him without you offering me your notes."

Rose cocked her head to the side. "You like him? For real?"

Judy nodded, blushing slightly. "I think he might like me, too."

"Okay. Well, keep on dating him then. I think you two make a cute couple."

"You do?"

"Sure. But you'd better hand back my notes. I don't think Al's ego would survive knowing that you only approached him in order to gain access to my History of Magic notes."

Judy bit her lip and looked unsure but eventually released the folder. "You won't say anything to him or Scorpius? I know they tell each other everything."

Rose shook her head and smiled widely. "I think it is healthy for there to be a little deception in every relationship, otherwise things just get boring."

Judy nodded. "That… um… makes sense, I suppose."

"Of course it does. Do you think I'd be in a relationship with Scorpius if I just approached him head on? I needed to find a way to convince him that it was all his idea."

"You are in a relationship with Scorpius?" Judy sounded shocked.

Rose nodded, a sly gleam appearing in her eyes. "It's always been part of my master plan. Only now, I'm going to incorporate you too."

"I'm not sure…"

Rose squeezed the girl's hand. "Don't fret. Just stick with me, and you, Al, Scorpius, and I are going to have a long and profitable friendship."

The End


End file.
